12. Bad with Words

Luke was sitting up in his room when Michael and I showed up. It took me up until a week ago to be able to go up into Luke's room after what happened. He was laying back on his bed, tossing a ball up into the air. He didn't even look up as we walked in.

Luke looked at me and shook his head. "This fucking kid," he stated. He swung his long legs off the bed and changed his expression, looking more curious. "So what are you doing back from school so early?"

"Ashton's house is getting sold," I explained. "But then Calum said something about it getting torn down..."

Luke's eyes widened as he stood. "Torn down? Like, the house will be gone? Shit, Ash must be torn up."

"He was about to freak out," Michael explained, leaning against the wall. "Hood had be take her away."

Luke sucked in a breath from between his teeth. "Yeah, he gets pretty bad when he's angry."

"But she actually heard Irwin talk for the first time." Michael smirked with a shrug. Since when did Michael ever try to find the bright side of anything?

Luke chuckled a little as he looked at me. "So it's been proven to Bri- Cooper that Ashton isn't actually mute. What'd he say?"

"He yelled about his family being gone," Michael shrugged. "Nothing that could affect her."

"What could he say that could ever affect me?" I wondered.

"One time," Luke began with a smile creeping on his face. "He had this girl he liked and he was talking to her about her vacation in Disney World or something, and he told her to have a good time but she ended up getting sick, right? But Ashton told her to have a good time so she went and hung out by the pool and went on all the rides even though she was puking her brains out."

"Then," Michael began when he had stopped laughing too hard. "They were talking another night and he was talking about how he wished he was there with her so she stole her parents' credit card to buy him a plane ticket."

My mouth dropped. "Are you serious?"

The two boy nodded as they had their laughing fit. Luke had to sit back down on the bed, and Michael just slid down the wall, holding his stomach with both hands. I never thought Ashton's words could have that big of an affect on someone.

"What about Calum?" I asked, getting worried. "Will he be okay?"

"He's the asshole who gave him the gift," Michael said after he finally composed himself. He was still sitting on the floor with his knees bent. "He's immune to it."

"Actually, he's immune to anything having to do with black magic." Luke added.

"Noticed Hood never wore sunglasses inside or when it was dark or anything?" Michael quizzed. "Luke can't get inside his head."

I furrowed my eyes together. It was weeks after the bomb was dropped on me and I was still learning so much stuff about them.

"Hey, did you eat lunch?" Michael questioned, looking up at me.

"Half a sandwich." I shrugged.

"I'll go grab you something from your place." he sighed, getting up. It wouldn't be the first time Michael's broken into my house. Well, it wasn't actually breaking in. He was a ghost - he could just appear inside.

"Seriously, your family should get their locks checked," Luke joked. Michael stopped and turned to look at him. "What? That was a good one!"

"I thought we were over the ghost jokes." Michael sighed, vanishing out of the room.

~*~

Luke brought me downstairs so he could play FIFA while I watched like usual. I tried playing a couple times, but it was just easy wins for the other boys. I liked when Ashton was at Luke's with me because I could just talk to him - he didn't like FIFA.

"Yes!" Luke smiled, punching the air as he scored the winning goal in the game. He set the controller down and looked around the room before his eyes settled on me. "Where is everyone?"

I looked at him with an expression that probably made him feel like a moron. "Michael went to-"

"I know that," he said. "But wouldn't he be back by now? Ashton and Calum, too."

I shrugged. I did agree that Michael should've returned from my house right about now, but I wasn't sure about Ashton or Calum. I didn't really expect them to be back anytime soon since the boys made it seem like Ashton would turn into the Hulk 2.0 when he got upset.

Luke went to stand up, but stopped and flopped back down on the couch. He was stuck here. I felt a pang of remorse. Luke still kept forgetting he couldn't leave the house after all this time. He was like a prisoner forced to live in the house where his entire family died, and where he killed his mother and himself. It was just a constant reminder to him, wasn't it? His own form of Hell.

"I don't believe in it," Luke replied to my thoughts. "Yes, it sucks that I have to stay here, but I don't believe in that bullshit. Once that house is taken down, I think his family will be lost in some void that people go to once they die. They just sit around in nothingness forever."

"You don't-"

"No," he shook his head. "After being dead and living in this house I've learned to think realistically. You should try it. And speaking of which, I'm not always upset, okay? I don't sit here moping about how I can't leave, so stop thinking I do."

I tried to just stop thinking about what he was saying but I couldn't. Why was he being so hostile? Me thinking that would probably just make him even more angry with me but that wasn't something I wanted nor needed. I liked Luke and I didn't want him thinking I thought lowly of him.

He groaned. "I don't, Bridgette. I'm just- I-"

"Sandwich," Michael stated, placing a plate with a nicely made sandwich on it on the coffee table in front of Luke and I. Both of us looked up at Michael as he moved to sit in the recliner. He spun it around so it was facing us instead of the TV. "So no word from Irwin or Hood, huh?"

I shrugged and shook my head, picking up my sandwich Michael had made me. "Neither one of them has texted or called me," I went to bite into my sandwich until I remember Michael had been gone longer than it takes to make a sandwich. "Hey, where have you been?"

He took a big breath and let it out quickly, running a hand through his hair. "I found Irwin and Hood."

I put my sandwich back down. "And you didn't say anything to us?"

"To you." he corrected.

My eyes moved to the space on the other side of the couch to see Luke had disappeared. As much as I wanted to question Michael about his disappearance and then go look for him, I had to see if Ashton was okay.

He sighed, but got up and did as I said. I met him by the door with my phone in hand. I didn't know if texting Ashton would be the best idea - he might know we were on his way to find him and hide somewhere. I figured Calum wouldn't tell me anything, so maybe it was best if I just let Michael lead the way.

"So where did you see him?" I asked after we were down the driveway.

Michael held his arm out to stop me from walking once we hit the sidewalk. He looked both ways before crossing the street. "Your house."